Redemption

This morning i wasnt sure i wanted to get up and go run. After i brushed my teeth, i thought may be i should just climb back into bed and do this LSD on Sunday evening like the way i had done last week. Thank god i didnt. Today, was easily one of my best days at running, be it training or racing. I ran 24kms at an average 5:52 pace which by itself is not very special but for a couple of things unique to this run.

As usual, my running friends and i started together but within 2-3 kms i couldnt see any of them nearby, as they are all very fast compared to my speed. And to boot, I hadnt particularly got a good nutrition fix yesterday so the first 3-4kms were so laboured that i wanted to turn back after running only 4.5kms. But i decided to push it just a little more until it became uncomfortable enough for me to stop running and turn back.

Around the 6-7km mark, i suddenly found a rhythm that made it very easy to maintain a 5:45ish pace. It just happened, i didnt consciously do something to feel that way. So i kept the run up and thought i would go it until i reach the toilets at upper seletar reservoir which is where everyone stops for a water break. Once i reached the toilet, i figured since the gate (the u-turn point) is only 1.2 kms away, i would run till there, come back and then take a water break. And then it suddenly occurred to me that since i was running a good rhythm, i should try to keep it up and see just how long i can go without stopping. So on my way back from the gate, i skipped the toilet and just tried to keep a steady pace going.

And as it so happened, i ran the first 21.1 kms of my run today non-stop - no water break, no walking. And i ran it in 2:01.xx which is my new PR for a road HM. Learning to drink on the run is a good benefit in having done that. So this was my longest run ever to have been done non-stop. I took a couple of minutes off at this point to catch my breath and then restarted the run, reaching MR in about 2:23ish for the 24.2km distance.

From how the run shaped up, to how it finally played out, i am really pleased with this. 2011 has been off to a better start than 2010 and i only hope that this continues for the rest of the year. I think i have a legitimate hope now for running a 4:40-4:45ish at Tokyo - whether or not that happens is a different proposition altogether.